He’s played in all 70 of the games of his redshirt freshman and sophomore season.

Only two other Buckeyes had more steals per game during the 2015-2016 campaign.

And he was second on the team last year in three-point baskets with 52, despite taking 123 fewer attempts than team leader Marc Loving, who made 56 from behind the arc. (As these numbers suggest, Williams easily paced the team in three-point shooting percentage.)

What mostly galls Williams is that the team lost to Arizona in the NCAA Tournament, allowing the Wildcats to advance to the Sweet 16 in 2015, before the Buckeyes failed to even make the NCAA Tournament in 2016, eventually losing to Florida in the NIT.

“I’m focused on the task at hand, just bringing the Ohio State culture back to the program,” said Williams, “because that’s what we’ve been lacking these last couple years.”

That big goal starts with minding the little details. Williams cited how they are stressing having their shoes tied and jerseys tucked in the moment they walk into the gym as examples of the kind of discipline-building habits the Buckeyes are working to establish.

“Just bringing that winning atmosphere back into the program, you know, just a hard-nosed, hard-working mentality,” Williams said. “I think that approach can help us win a lot of basketball games.”